Life in prison for robbery

Accused knew the victim

Published: Friday, September 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, September 6, 2013 at 4:36 p.m.

Jason Lain, 31, pleaded for leniency Friday afternoon before a Marion County judge imposed a life sentence for his involvement in a January home invasion.

“I believe if I had a second chance out there I’d be able to do better than this,” Lain told Circuit Judge Brian Lambert.

But in the end Lambert imposed a life sentence for Lain, who qualified as a “prison releasee reoffender.” A life sentence is the mandatory maximum punishment for offenders with this designation. Lain has 13 prior offenses, both felonies and misdemeanors.

Before the sentence was imposed, defense attorney Leonard Klatt, citing case law, argued the judge had discretion in imposing the re-offender designation.

A jury on Friday found Lain guilty of breaking into an elderly woman’s house in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 7 and stealing jewelry, electronics and a shotgun. An accomplice threatened to shoot the woman.

Outside the courtroom after the verdict, Klatt stopped short of saying the sentence was excessive but did put the punishment in context.

“Mr. Lain got the same penalty the young people in the Bargo trial received, and their charge was first-degree murder,” he said.

Four co-defendants are serving life sentences for the 2011 murder of Seath Jackson, 15. Michael Bargo, 21, has been found guilty and awaits his punishment; the state is seeking the death penalty.

Klatt later said the problem is more widespread. “The whole problem is with the legislative setup, where they just mandated so many required sentences, and that’s why we have our prisons so full,” Klatt said.

While he did say he accepted the judge’s decision, he thinks the system would benefit if judges were given more opportunities for discretion.

After deliberating for two and a half hours, the jury found Lain guilty of armed burglary of a dwelling with an assault, furthering the burglary by cutting a telephone line inside the victim’s house, and two first-degree misdemeanors — contributing to the delinquency of a minor — for leaving his children unattended in a hotel room during the crime.

In his closing argument, Assistant State Attorney Bryon Aven recounted the evidence that linked Lain to the burglary at the Southeast Ocala residence.

The state believes Lain and co-defendant Christina Lyn Brick, 34, pried open a door to the residence, cut a phone line so the woman who lived there couldn’t call for help, threatened to shoot her, and then rummaged through her house for half an hour before leaving with the stolen items.

Then they returned to the Ocala Inn, where witness Jose Martinez watched Brick dump out a pillowcase full of jewelry onto the bed.

Lain told Martinez the pair had “used some muscle to get some stuff from an old lady,” Aven said.

“During the ransacking, she heard Mr. Lain speak and she recognized his voice,” Aven said, referring to the victim’s testimony. Lain had previously performed several odd jobs at the house and knew the woman, and therefore chose to target her, according to Aven.

The state also pointed to surveillance footage from the Ocala Inn. The video showed Lain’s truck leave the parking lot hours before the burglary and then return. A man and woman are shown exiting the vehicle shortly after the burglary had been reported to authorities around 4:50 a.m.

Authorities later recovered several of the stolen items from that truck, where a sticker in the back window displayed Lain’s name.

Items recovered included a Macbook labeled with the victim’s name, an iPad, and gloves the state believed were used during the crime.

The morning began with the state calling its last witness, Emily Haines, a DNA expert with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who testified finding evidence of both Lain and Brick’s DNA on a flashlight left at the residence.

Klatt pointed out this DNA could have been previously left by Lain while performing odd jobs at the house.

After the state rested, so did the defense, without calling any witnesses. If Lain had decided to testify, the state told the court it intended to call Brick as a rebuttal witness.

Klatt sought a judgment of acquittal before the jury started deliberating, but Lambert denied the motion.

During his closing argument, Klatt emphasized there were no eyewitness who placed his client at the house the night of the crime. He pointed to potential issues with the DNA results and the fact that Lain’s prints were not found on any of the stolen items, only on the flashlight.

“That doesn’t prove he was there on the night of the robbery,” Klatt argued.

He further argued the couple’s conduct concerning the children constituted bad parenting and negligence, but did not rise to contributing to their delinquency.

During the trial, Klatt also pointed out Brick pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the same charges and she was the one who threatened the victim and committed the offense. He urged the jury to use common sense.

“To be a principal (to the crime), I don’t even have to prove Mr. Lain was present,” Aven reminded the jury. “But I believe I have.”

After the verdict, Klatt commented on his client. “I think he could be a real asset to society,” he said. “Now it’s a question whether he would ever be in society.”

<p>Jason Lain, 31, pleaded for leniency Friday afternoon before a Marion County judge imposed a life sentence for his involvement in a January home invasion.</p><p>“I believe if I had a second chance out there I'd be able to do better than this,” Lain told Circuit Judge Brian Lambert.</p><p>But in the end Lambert imposed a life sentence for Lain, who qualified as a “prison releasee reoffender.” A life sentence is the mandatory maximum punishment for offenders with this designation. Lain has 13 prior offenses, both felonies and misdemeanors.</p><p>Before the sentence was imposed, defense attorney Leonard Klatt, citing case law, argued the judge had discretion in imposing the re-offender designation.</p><p>A jury on Friday found Lain guilty of breaking into an elderly woman's house in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 7 and stealing jewelry, electronics and a shotgun. An accomplice threatened to shoot the woman.</p><p>Outside the courtroom after the verdict, Klatt stopped short of saying the sentence was excessive but did put the punishment in context.</p><p>“Mr. Lain got the same penalty the young people in the Bargo trial received, and their charge was first-degree murder,” he said.</p><p>Four co-defendants are serving life sentences for the 2011 murder of Seath Jackson, 15. Michael Bargo, 21, has been found guilty and awaits his punishment; the state is seeking the death penalty.</p><p>Klatt later said the problem is more widespread. “The whole problem is with the legislative setup, where they just mandated so many required sentences, and that's why we have our prisons so full,” Klatt said.</p><p>While he did say he accepted the judge's decision, he thinks the system would benefit if judges were given more opportunities for discretion.</p><p>After deliberating for two and a half hours, the jury found Lain guilty of armed burglary of a dwelling with an assault, furthering the burglary by cutting a telephone line inside the victim's house, and two first-degree misdemeanors — contributing to the delinquency of a minor — for leaving his children unattended in a hotel room during the crime.</p><p>In his closing argument, Assistant State Attorney Bryon Aven recounted the evidence that linked Lain to the burglary at the Southeast Ocala residence.</p><p>The state believes Lain and co-defendant Christina Lyn Brick, 34, pried open a door to the residence, cut a phone line so the woman who lived there couldn't call for help, threatened to shoot her, and then rummaged through her house for half an hour before leaving with the stolen items.</p><p>Then they returned to the Ocala Inn, where witness Jose Martinez watched Brick dump out a pillowcase full of jewelry onto the bed.</p><p>Lain told Martinez the pair had “used some muscle to get some stuff from an old lady,” Aven said.</p><p>“During the ransacking, she heard Mr. Lain speak and she recognized his voice,” Aven said, referring to the victim's testimony. Lain had previously performed several odd jobs at the house and knew the woman, and therefore chose to target her, according to Aven.</p><p>The state also pointed to surveillance footage from the Ocala Inn. The video showed Lain's truck leave the parking lot hours before the burglary and then return. A man and woman are shown exiting the vehicle shortly after the burglary had been reported to authorities around 4:50 a.m.</p><p>Authorities later recovered several of the stolen items from that truck, where a sticker in the back window displayed Lain's name.</p><p>Items recovered included a Macbook labeled with the victim's name, an iPad, and gloves the state believed were used during the crime.</p><p>The morning began with the state calling its last witness, Emily Haines, a DNA expert with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who testified finding evidence of both Lain and Brick's DNA on a flashlight left at the residence.</p><p>Klatt pointed out this DNA could have been previously left by Lain while performing odd jobs at the house.</p><p>After the state rested, so did the defense, without calling any witnesses. If Lain had decided to testify, the state told the court it intended to call Brick as a rebuttal witness.</p><p>Klatt sought a judgment of acquittal before the jury started deliberating, but Lambert denied the motion.</p><p>During his closing argument, Klatt emphasized there were no eyewitness who placed his client at the house the night of the crime. He pointed to potential issues with the DNA results and the fact that Lain's prints were not found on any of the stolen items, only on the flashlight.</p><p>“That doesn't prove he was there on the night of the robbery,” Klatt argued.</p><p>He further argued the couple's conduct concerning the children constituted bad parenting and negligence, but did not rise to contributing to their delinquency.</p><p>During the trial, Klatt also pointed out Brick pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the same charges and she was the one who threatened the victim and committed the offense. He urged the jury to use common sense.</p><p>“To be a principal (to the crime), I don't even have to prove Mr. Lain was present,” Aven reminded the jury. “But I believe I have.”</p><p>After the verdict, Klatt commented on his client. “I think he could be a real asset to society,” he said. “Now it's a question whether he would ever be in society.”</p><p>Lain has 30 days to appeal the judgment and sentence.</p>